Water/Wastewater Engineer
Salary

Average Water & Wastewater Engineers in the United States make around $61K per year. Earnings for this group are mostly affected by geographic location, followed by years of experience and the particular employer. There are more male Water & Wastewater Engineers than female among those who completed the questionnaire, making up 65 percent. For the most part, Water & Wastewater Engineers enjoy their work and report high levels of job satisfaction. Almost all enjoy medical while a large number get dental coverage. Vision coverage is also available to the greater part. Respondents to the PayScale salary survey provided the data for this report.

XTotal Pay combines base annual salary or hourly wage, bonuses, profit sharing, tips, commissions, overtime pay and other forms of cash earnings, as applicable for this job. It does not include equity (stock) compensation, cash value of retirement benefits, or the value of other non-cash benefits (e.g. healthcare).

XTotal Pay combines base annual salary or hourly wage, bonuses, profit sharing, tips, commissions, overtime pay and other forms of cash earnings, as applicable for this job. It does not include equity (stock) compensation, cash value of retirement benefits, or the value of other non-cash benefits (e.g. healthcare).

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Job Description for Water/Wastewater Engineer

A water/wastewater engineer is an environmental engineer or scientist who works to help ensure the safety of public (and even sometimes private) water systems. This engineer works in treatment plants to ensure that fresh water and used water are both treated properly and systematically. They also typically monitor local soil and groundwater to ensure these environmental factors reflect the monitoring and output recorded by water treatment facilities.

Water/wastewater engineers spends most of their typical workday in a water treatment plant. They ensure that the plant efficiently and effectively collects wastewater from all sources, usually through monitoring sewer systems. The engineer then determines and works to ensure that sufficient systems are in place and working properly to treat the water. The engineer then helps determine whether the water must be returned to groundwater in the environment or if it can be made potable and returned to the general water supply. Additionally, water/wastewater engineers monitor water outputs and also make frequent trips into the field to monitor natural water sources, soil, and groundwater for pollutants to ensure the water returned from the plant won't be harmful to the environment.

To work in this position, a person must have at least a bachelor's degree in environmental engineering and a strong background in chemistry (and, sometimes, mechanical engineering as well). The engineer should expect some sort of background check as well. Typically employees in this job work during regular business hours, but they may be needed for on-call work in the event of emergency.

Water/Wastewater Engineer Tasks

Lead project management and reporting for team members, and set schedules and goals.

Model variables to identify risk factors, improvements, and other metrics.